Mascott, Art Project (Red Panda)

A disclaimer: Kendall Jane Meade of Mascott is a friend of mine. I first encountered her way back in 1997 when an augmented Helium played at Tokyo Rose — she was on keyboards and backup vocals. I was instantly smitten with her effortless charm and buoyant playing. I saw her again the following March when Helium opened for Sleater-Kinney at the Black Cat.* In 1999, Kendall toured with The Spinanes (along with a post-Chisel, pre-Pharamacists Ted Leo) and my appreciation for her musical acumen grew greater after seeing them in DC.

Somewhere along the way, I ran across an article in MAGNET magazine describing Kendall’s past work with all-girl popsters Juicy and extolling her debut solo EP under the name Mascott, Electric Poems (Le Grand Magistery). I picked up that record and later her 2000 full-length release Follow The Sound, and was beguiled by her seductive yet playful songwriting (not to mention the A-list cast of supporting musicians she had surrounded herself with). In July 2001, we crossed paths again in the parking lot behind the Plan 9 Music in Richmond — Kendall was (to my surprise and delight) playing with Sparklehorse, who were headlining a day-long festival celebrating Plan 9’s 20th anniversary. They played last, but their soundcheck at the beginning of the day ran way long-, so they finished as the sun was setting. There in the dusky haze of sweltering Carytown, I summoned up the courage to introduce myself to Ms. Meade, who, far from being a stereotypical jaded indie scene queen, was quite friendly and honestly surprised that anyone in Virginia had even heard of Mascott, let alone was a self-proclaimed huge fan. »Read More

Popularity: 10% [?]

The Fiery Furnaces, Remember (Thrill Jockey)

The brother-and-sister team of Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger have graced our fair hamlet twice in the past few years under the guise of their touring and recording outfit The Fiery Furnaces. Perhaps you’ll recall their first visit — it came the same day as an onslaught of snow blanketed the University, sending waves of worry through the minds of intrepid concert-goers, though truth be told it really wasn’t that much precipitation and by the time the show started it had abated. Regardless, the Friedbergers spit out an interesting performance, albeit one that leaned a bit too heavily on their twin-guitar attack; after a few minutes it became apparent that the versatility offered by Matthew’s keyboard would be missed, and it was. When they returned earlier this year, he was back tickling the ivories and the evening morphed from just another night at the concert hall (R.I.P.) to a truly outstanding gathering of entertainers and entertainees. The audience was invited to partake in a democratic process for encore selections as well as to contribute lyrics and/or song titles for future Furnaces projects. I truly hope it was not their last visit to Charlottesville.

Which brings us to Remember, the first official live document of the Furnaces, and it proceeds as strangely as most of their shows. For those not in the know, a Furnaces concert typically feels like they’ve taken all their music and lyrics and thrown them into a blender — you’ll hear songs chopped up, re-imagined, and transformed, while often strung together in medley form. They seem to have gotten away from this practice a bit with their most recent album, Widow City, but the tendencies still persist. How to capture and reproduce all this head-scratching concert goodness on a compact disc or vinyl platter? Simple: take a handful of live recordings of varying quality and subject them to the same treatment. The result is a sprawling, delightful mess, covering life on the road and touching down on nearly every song in the Furnaces’ massive oeuvre.

Remember covers four different tours by the Furances over the past three years, featuring mostly the same players, but with slight changes in instrumentation. The recordings have come from fans and (presumably) the band, and while they are generally all quite listenable, it will certainly vex some ears to hear sudden not-so-subtle sonic variations across the same song or group of songs. The 2-disc set comes with a disclaimer: “Please do not attempt to listen to all at once,” and I actually agree with that assessment. It’s a lot to take in, but for fans of the Friedbergers’ verbose high-wire act, it is almost an embarrassment of riches with some 51 tracks to explore and relish. If I could harbor one complaint, it would be the lack of material featuring former drummer Andy Knowles, whose playful restfulness and technical savvy make him a far better fit for the band than the competent but pedestrian thrashings of current stickman Robert D’Amico.

You can check out the hand-written tracklist to Remember here and Thrill Jockey’s page with audio samples here.

DJ Baconfat hosts Nowhere Near, Wednesdays from 2 -4pm on WTJU 91.1FM or at wtju.net

Popularity: 15% [?]

Black Kids, Partie Traumatic (Columbia).

I kind of feel like I’m reviewing the Sarah Palin album here. Not just because the BKs have shite for experience, but also because casting any kind of critical eye on them makes someone cry foul. It’s been that way ever since their four-song MySpace EP got a sparkling Pitchfork review last fall. This led to typical blogger orgy-and-backlash, making every evaluation suspicious. If you liked them, you were a sucker. If you didn’t, you were a hater. At the time, I gave a casual “meh,” but since the Kids were anointed as one of Rolling Stone’s “Ten Artists to Watch in 2008,” and since Partie Traumatic actually hit #11 in the UK, it seems time to actually check out their platform.

Ok, the songs are well-crafted and the dancey grooves are tight enough, but it’s all very self-conscious and generic. These aren’t eighties synths, they’re I Love The ’80s! synths. They’re trying way too hard to sell themselves as cute, and the singalong chorus “hit the heart brakes!” is not cute, it’s barfy. The best I can say is that I love their influences: the drums on one track are straight from Bowie’s “Modern Love,” the stuttery guitar rhythm in another is lifted from Yaz’ “Don’t Walk Away From Love,” and in his best moments, singer Reggie Youngblood does indeed recall Robert Smith. But most of the time, he’s a noxious, screeching presence, a neighbor’s dog that won’t shutthef*ckup.

Too bad – “Hurricane Jane” actually whips up a decent late-seventies vibe, and Youngblood starts off the song in a blessedly reserved mode – I can actually see people dancing to this. But then comes the chorus and that shrieking, and if that’s your thing, well, y’all go ahead and dance; it just makes me want to listen to Blondie tapes in the parking lot. [reviews for the latest from The Walkmen and Talkdemonic after the break] »Read More

Popularity: 15% [?]

The Dutchess and the Duke - She’s the Dutchess, He’s the Duke (Hardly Art)

Critics are reaching to cast this duo as a pre-rock star, blues-based band that harkens back to Keith Richards before his face was a roadmap of hell. It doesn’t seem necessary since the first Duke and Dutchess album is something we forgot existed in the era of the 3-song album: a tight 10-track indie album replete with stompers, shredders and clap-alongs, but without a duff track to be found. “Reservoir Park” and “I am Just a Ghost” show two-sides of this royal pair, one starts out with a driving 60s psych sound while the other starts forlorn and slow. They both turn on the juice with hot guitar passages by mid-song. Loads of boy-girl call and response along with some only marginally freakish folk to round out the top shelf tracks like “Strangers,” “Prisoner” and “Out of Time.” An album that creeps up on you like late July kudzu…

In recent news: The Dutchess and the Duke will be opening up for James Jackson Toth of Wooden Wand on August 29th at the Gravity Lounge. I will be the first fanboy on the right.

Listen to Reservoir Park

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Popularity: 26% [?]

I don’t know if this Adbusters cover essay on hipsters is going to take a life of its own, like Sasha Frere-Jones’ piece on race and indie music last year. But I spied Adbusters by chance late Sunday night, and then a friend linked to the essay on his Facebook page Monday morning, so maybe it’s in the air. And strangely, I spent the last two weekends in locales replete with hipsters, either as part of the mix (Athens, Georgia) or as the defining element (Williamsburg, Brooklyn). So pardon me for throwing fuel on the fire, or adding echo to the chamber, but I have to respond to all of this just a bit.

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Popularity: 32% [?]

“we’re gonna have a little barbecue…”

It’s summertime, and that’s always meant early rock and soul to me. Maybe it’s because summer is the South’s season, and early rock and roll is fundamentally southern. In any case, come July, give me Bo Diddley, Stax, Buddy Holly, all those crazy-ass Sun folks. But if you’re making music now, how do you summon the ancient spirits without sounding like a crap cover band? There’s no point in straightfaced revivalism, but hybiridized updates are often DOA – self-conscious and gimmicky. Here’s a couple records that, for the occasional misstep, capture a righteous balance of past and present that’s been a greased hog for retro roots pretenders since Sha Na Na. 

King Khan and the Shrines, The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines (Vice).

It raises the stakes of kicking some garage-soul-wildman sounds when you know people are going to see your posters and peg you for a Bollywood star with fake rainbows popping around his head. But King Khan don’t pay no never mind. He names his songs “Land of the Freak” and “Burnin’ Inside,” howls like a dingo in a leg trap, and makes his band play like they’re actually on fire. Khan and the Shrines have been whipping up a righteous frenzy for the last few years, and it’s captured mighty well on this new Vice compilation.

http://www.myspace.com/kingkhantheshrines

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Popularity: 42% [?]

After a couple weeks on hiatus,  it’s time to bring back the segment where we ask you what colorful little ditties, annoying tv commerical slogans, cheesey pop songs, or just all-around great sounds and songs are currently being broadcast over the radio station in your mind?

And speaking of radio stations, this week we asked our good buddy Nick Rubin, who is part of the rock department at WTJU 91.1.FM , what five albums or songs are currently getting a steady groove worn in them from constant play in the old mental boom box.  To find out you’ve got to…

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Popularity: 29% [?]

WTJU’s Rock and Roll Movie Night presents the one and only, This is Spinal Tap, tonight at 8pm in Room 120 of UVA’s Olsson Hall.  There is no charge.

Arguably one of the greatest rock n roll movies of all-time, This is Spinal Tap has become a lasting piece of rock pop culture as well as a cautionary tale for would-be drummers.  Do I really need to say anymore than that?

Popularity: 37% [?]

Here are a couple of noteworthy music items taking place in Charlottesville as we kick off your work week.  WTJU 91.1FM presents another Rock and Roll Move Night on Monday starring the band Radiohead and on Tuesday the Paramount Theater presents Steve Earle with Allison Moorer.  For more details….

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Popularity: 36% [?]

If you’re a fan of the indie-hardcore band Fugazi and you still haven’t made any plans on how to spend your Monday night, then you might want to listen up.  WTJU Rock and Roll Move Night is presenting Instrument:  Ten Years with Fugazi, a documentary film directed by Jem Cohen, tonight in Room 011 in UVA’s Olsson Hall.  The film begins at 8pm and it’s FREE.

 Here’s one reviewer’s take on the film:

Instrument is striking for multiple reasons. One–it is simply beautiful to look at and undergo. Two–it is tremendously, unrelentingly, human. No bright-light celebrity rockstars need apply. Three–the fans play a large role in this film-about-a-band.

Jen Stauffer of the web-zine h2so4

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Popularity: 29% [?]